An eco-friendly adventure park has launched a novel campaign to celebrate Welshness – starting with a surprise delivery of traditional treats to a care home.
Team members from GreenWood Family Park, in Felinheli, near Bangor, took dozens of Welsh Cakes and bunches of bright yellow daffodils to the Cerrig yr Afon home on the outskirts of the village.
According to the attraction’s marketing manager, Kim Howie, it’s the first in a series of “Random Acts of Welshness” to generate national pride whilst having some feelgood fun at the same time.
Kim explained the pioneering park, home to the planet’s only people powered rollercoaster and what’s thought to be the UK’s first solar powered water slide, also prides itself on being a good neighbour to the local community.
She said: “We have partnered with Visit Wales to create a Random Act of Welshness campaign which is our twist on Random Acts of Kindness.
“We’re very much rooted in the local community and this is a way to showcase what we do and celebrate our Welshness.
“Essentially, it’s about following the example of our patron saint, St David, and his mantra about the importance of doing the little things that mean a lot.
“We thought it would be a cool idea to come here with some Welsh Cakes and daffodils as a treat for the residents and the staff at the home which is just five minutes up the road from GreenWood and is such an important community asset.
“I must say it’s been a lot of fun today – we’ve had a ball. It was lovely to see everyone being so cheerful and it was great to see that the Welsh Cakes went down so well.
“We’ve now got some more Random Acts of Welshness in the pipeline because it’s great to bring a smile to people’s faces.
She added: “We do everything we can to involve the local community, including educational visits for schools to encourage a greener way of life
“We have introduced a locals’ loyalty past for people living in the LL postcode area and they get a good discount, £150 for the whole year to come to GreenWood and we can’t wait for a busy Easter with our brand new ride and new for spring animal area.”
Former RAF air traffic controller Moi Evans, 84, from Caernarfon, was visiting his wife Joyce, 79, as he does every day, when the GreenWood team arrived bearing gifts.
He said: “It’s lovely to have a treat like this and it’s important that we celebrate our Welshness – and this is a lovely way of doing that.
Resident Mair Parry, 81, who hails from nearby Caerhun, added: “I’ve enjoyed the Welsh Cakes today and the daffodils are delightful.”
The visit was also welcomed by the home’s manager, Joanna Mosses, who said the campaign chimed perfectly with their own ethos.
She said: “It’s a lovely home where we have a lot of Welsh speaking residents and we also have staff who are able to support the residents because they also speak Welsh, so we’re keeping the heritage of the home going.
“It’s a really important part of our approach and we’re currently running Welsh lessons for a number of staff who don’t speak Welsh.
“The residents and the staff are interacting together so the residents that speak Welsh are teaching us Welsh as well, the young and the old – everybody is getting involved. It’s really, really good.
“The Random Act of Welshness is a really kind gesture. We did some Random Acts of Kindness last week so it’s really nice that somebody has thought of us.
“It’s really positive and the residents have thoroughly enjoyed the Welsh Cakes and the flowers. It’s brightened everyone’s day.
“It’s important that the residents know they are not forgotten because they are very much still part of the community.”
GreenWood or Gelli Gyffwrdd in Welsh, recently named the Best Family Attraction in North Wales by TripAdvisor, is owned by the Continuum Attractions group whose portfolio includes some of the most successful visitor attractions in the UK, including The Coronation Street Experience, the Loch Ness Centre and Emmerdale The Village Tour.
